We work with an academic research team to evaluate all of our programs. The data they have collected and analyzed has allowed us to improve the way we serve our community partners and our families. Based on input from diaper recipients, we had added new programs and learned about the ways in which receiving diapers has benefited families in the community.

Working with an evaluation team has allowed us to learn more about the families we are serving. For example, we have learned that 75% of the families who receive diapers from the Diaper Bank of North Carolina are working families. The families we serve are working 1 and 2 jobs but are struggling to get by between paychecks. Better understanding the context of families’ lives allows us to serve them in ways that best meet their needs.

As a result of diaper need, families experience health, economic, and social disparities. Through our research we have documented the ways in which providing diapers addresses these disparities so that children, parents, and caregivers are healthier and happier and parents can attend work, school, and job training.

The evaluation findings from the Diaper Bank of North Carolina have implications for diaper banks across the country. We serve as a resource for other diaper banks seeing to document the outcomes of their own community efforts.